Runcorn and Helsby (UK Parliament constituency)

Last updated

Runcorn and Helsby
County constituency
for the House of Commons
North West England - Runcorn and Helsby constituency.svg
Boundary of Runcorn and Helsby in North West England
County Cheshire
Electorate 70,950 (2023) [1]
Major settlements Runcorn, Frodsham and Helsby
Current constituency
Created 2024
Member of Parliament Mike Amesbury (Independent)
SeatsOne
Created from Weaver Vale, Halton, City of Chester and Ellesmere Port and Neston

Runcorn and Helsby is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election. [2]

Contents

The Member of Parliament elected in 2024 is Mike Amesbury, formerly MP for Weaver Vale from 2017 to 2024. Amesbury was elected as a Labour MP, but had the Labour whip suspended on 27 October 2024 following release of CCTV footage of an incident the previous day appearing to show him punching a man in the street. [3] On 24 February 2025, Amesbury was sentenced to 10 weeks in prison after pleading guilty. [4] In an appeal at Chester Crown Court on 27 February 2025, his prison sentence was suspended for two years and he was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work. On 10 March 2025, Amesbury announced his intention to resign as an MP "as soon as possible" [5] , which will trigger the anticipated 2025 Runcorn and Helsby by-election.

Boundaries

Runcorn and Helsby (UK Parliament constituency)
Map of boundaries from 2024

The constituency is composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

The seat comprises the following areas: [7]

Members of Parliament

ElectionMember [9] Party
2024 Mike Amesbury Labour
Oct 2024 Independent [a]
  1. Whip suspended in October 2024 after videos emerged appearing to show Amesbury punching man to the ground [10]

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

2025 Runcorn and Helsby by-election
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Tom Bartleet [11]
Green Chris Copeman [12]
Workers Party Peter Ford [13]
Conservative Sean Houlston [14]
Labour Karen Shore [15]
Independent Michael Williams [16]

General election 2024: Runcorn and Helsby [17] [18]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Mike Amesbury 22,358 52.9 +4.1
Reform UK Jason Moorcroft7,66218.1+13.3
Conservative Jade Marsden6,75616.0−20.8
Green Chris Copeman2,7156.4+3.5
Liberal Democrats Chris Rowe2,1495.1−1.6
Liberal Danny Clarke4791.1N/A
SDP Paul Murphy1160.3N/A
Rejected ballots171
Majority14,69634.8+22.9
Turnout 42,23558.7−9.5
Registered electors 71,955
Labour hold Swing −4.6

Changes are from the notional results of the 2019 election on the new boundaries. [19]

Elections in the 2010s

2019 notional result [20]
PartyVote %
Labour 23,61748.8
Conservative 17,83836.8
Liberal Democrats 3,2476.7
Brexit Party 2,3024.8
Green 1,4142.9
Turnout48,41868.2
Electorate70,950

References

  1. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – North West". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  2. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – North West | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  3. https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2024-10-27/new-video-emerges-of-labour-mp-appearing-to-punch-man
  4. Grierson, Jamie (24 February 2025). "MP Mike Amesbury sentenced to 10 weeks in prison for assault". The Guardian . Retrieved 24 February 2025.
  5. Crerar, Pippa; editor, Pippa Crerar Political (10 March 2025). "Mike Amesbury resigns as MP, triggering byelection". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 11 March 2025.{{cite news}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  6. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 5 North West region.
  7. "New Seat Details - Runcorn and Helsby". Electoral Calculus . Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  8. "Updated boundary changes published for Halton". InYourArea.co.uk. 9 November 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  9. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 2)
  10. "Labour suspends MP Mike Amesbury after video appears to show him punching man". 27 October 2024.
  11. @Tomorrow'sMPs [@tomorrowsmps] (14 March 2025). "🟠 RUNCORN & HELSBY: I'm told Liberal Democrat candidate is likely to be Tom Bartleet, c.55, who stood in South Suffolk in 2024" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  12. Al-Othman, Hannah (15 March 2025). "'I like Nigel Farage': Runcorn and Helsby byelection could be big test for Starmer". The Guardian . Retrieved 15 March 2025.
  13. "Peter Ford to fight Runcorn and Helsby". 12 March 2025. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  14. @Tomorrow'sMPs [@tomorrowsmps] (15 March 2025). "🔵 RUNCORN & HELSBY: I hear Sean Houlston has been picked as Conservative candidate for the by-election" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  15. "Labour announces candidate for expected by-election in Runcorn and Helsby". Liverpool Echo. 13 March 2025. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
  16. @runcornandhelsby (13 March 2025). "Runcorn and Helsby Announcement" . Retrieved 13 March 2025 via Instagram.
  17. "Runcorn and Helsby Results - General Election 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  18. "Election Results for Runcorn and Helsby". Halton Borough Council. 4 July 2024.
  19. "Notional election for the constituency of Runcorn and Helsby". UK Parliament.
  20. "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament . Retrieved 11 July 2024.